# Respond to a guest who reports food poisoning or illness

A careful response, internal investigation checklist, and record-keeping steps after a foodborne illness complaint.

- Topic: Customer Support
- Framework: RTF
- Level: Advanced
- Tags: Customer Support, Communication, Analyze, Fill-in Template
- Source: https://www.thinkwithprompt.com/prompts/respond-to-a-guest-who-reports-food-poisoning-or-illness

## Prompt

```text
Help me respond to a guest who says they got sick after eating at my venue.

**What the guest reported:** [PASTE MESSAGE OR CALL NOTES - symptoms, timing, what they ate, how many in the party were affected]
**Date and time of the meal:** [DETAILS]
**What we know so far:** [OTHER COMPLAINTS, STAFF ILLNESS, TEMPERATURE LOGS, ITEMS SERVED, SUPPLIER BATCHES]
**How they contacted us:** [phone / email / public review / health department]
**My location:** [CITY AND STATE - for reporting requirements]

Give me:
1. A reply to the guest: express genuine concern, ask clear questions (symptoms, onset time, what everyone ate, whether they saw a doctor), and encourage them to seek medical care. No admission of fault, no speculation about the cause, no offer of compensation until I have spoken with my insurer.
2. A same-day internal checklist: preserve leftover product and receipts, pull temperature and cooling logs, check staff illness and exclusion records, list ingredients and suppliers for the dishes, and check for other complaints from the same day.
3. When to contact the health department and my insurer, noting that multiple related illnesses may trigger a reporting duty [CONFIRM LOCAL RULE] and that cooperating early is usually best.
4. A holding statement if it appears on social media or a review site.
5. A record template capturing the complaint, timeline, actions, and who was informed.

Keep the guest message under 150 words. If the guest describes severe symptoms (bloody diarrhea, high fever, dehydration, confusion, difficulty breathing or swallowing) or the guest is pregnant, elderly, or a young child, the reply must urge them to seek medical care promptly or call emergency services. This is general guidance; speak with my insurer and a lawyer before admitting anything.
```

## What to fill in

- DETAILS
- phone / email / public review / health department
- CITY AND STATE - for reporting requirements
- CONFIRM LOCAL RULE

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